dizziness will go away in a minute. You’re lucky you escaped.”
I didn’t say anything as I dragged my bags to the agent’s desk and hefted them onto the counter. He refolded my papers and slid them to the edge. “You’re lucky to escape.”
“So I hear.” I shoved my papers back inside of my jacket. The thing was, I did know better and it embarrassed me to the point that my cheeks got hot. I drew in a deep breath and looked at him. “Thank you.”
He stared at me for a long moment and then nodded. “Just doing my job.”
“Not something you have to do very often, I’m sure.”
He shrugged. “A few times a month, but if it makes you feel any better, never had a repeat from those who’ve gotten . . . stuck.”
“Yeah, definitely a lesson one never forgets.”
After he completed a cursory inspection of my bags, he handed my ID back and set me on my way. “Stay out of trouble.”
I let out a soft laugh. “Would be a first.” Trouble and I had a way of finding each other.
His lips twitched. He shook his head as a couple came through the sphere and his attention went back to work.
“You need to sit for a minute?” Sandra asked as I caught up with her.
“No, I’m fine. Let’s go.” I glanced back at the Adonai. He wasn’t so bad. Definitely not a jerk like the other one. Maybe people were just in a better mood on this side of the gate, being in paradise and all.
Sandra followed my gaze and my train of thought apparently. “They’re still full of themselves,” she said as we continued on, walking past high marble columns that lined each side of the terminal. “The Adonai’s arrogance is somewhat justifiable, I suppose. They are, after all, the most powerful race in Elysia.”
“Yes, but there are others . . . just as powerful or more so.”
“True. But as a group, as a whole, they are stronger, more organized and disciplined. Their powershows in every facet of their existence. Once we clear those doors, you’ll see what I mean.”
She swept ahead of me toward a shaft of golden light that spilled through two-story-tall double doors, which were held open by two giant statues of armored warriors.
It was like walking toward the gates of Saint Peter. My pulse picked up. What existed outside of those doors was the model for heaven. Heaven.
I wasn’t deeply religious, but I did believe there existed a higher power—undefined and beyond our understanding. I was well aware the land beyond the golden light wasn’t a place of eternal rest, a place where souls found peace and reward. I knew all that, but it didn’t stop me from experiencing a profound sense of wonder as we drew closer to the wide shaft of light.
People passed in and out of the light, not even noting the beauty of it. And when I did the same, when I passed through that golden light, I came out onto a scene that took my breath away.
My first view of Ithonia was framed by massive white columns, part of a long colonnade stretching to the left and right. I moved to the marble railing built between each column and stood there taking it all in. From our higher vantage point, the city of Ithonia sprawled out in a gentle slope below us. In the distance, far beyond the city, a sun hovered just above green mountains. The white marble walls, streets, and buildings glowed.
I thought of Emma and Rex, of Bryn and myparents—if only they could see what I was seeing. I thought of Will and wondered if the Afterlife was as beautiful as this, and I prayed that it was.
“Ithonia.” Admiration filled Alessandra’s soft whisper.
“I never thought I’d see this. Never thought it’d live up to the hype, to the picture I had in my mind, but it does.” A hundred times over, it does .
“For once, we are in agreement,” she said with a genuine smile. “Many of the ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean—the Minoans, the ancient Greeks, the Etruscans—were influenced mostly by the Adonai and sirens who visited your world in
I didn’t say anything as I dragged my bags to the agent’s desk and hefted them onto the counter. He refolded my papers and slid them to the edge. “You’re lucky to escape.”
“So I hear.” I shoved my papers back inside of my jacket. The thing was, I did know better and it embarrassed me to the point that my cheeks got hot. I drew in a deep breath and looked at him. “Thank you.”
He stared at me for a long moment and then nodded. “Just doing my job.”
“Not something you have to do very often, I’m sure.”
He shrugged. “A few times a month, but if it makes you feel any better, never had a repeat from those who’ve gotten . . . stuck.”
“Yeah, definitely a lesson one never forgets.”
After he completed a cursory inspection of my bags, he handed my ID back and set me on my way. “Stay out of trouble.”
I let out a soft laugh. “Would be a first.” Trouble and I had a way of finding each other.
His lips twitched. He shook his head as a couple came through the sphere and his attention went back to work.
“You need to sit for a minute?” Sandra asked as I caught up with her.
“No, I’m fine. Let’s go.” I glanced back at the Adonai. He wasn’t so bad. Definitely not a jerk like the other one. Maybe people were just in a better mood on this side of the gate, being in paradise and all.
Sandra followed my gaze and my train of thought apparently. “They’re still full of themselves,” she said as we continued on, walking past high marble columns that lined each side of the terminal. “The Adonai’s arrogance is somewhat justifiable, I suppose. They are, after all, the most powerful race in Elysia.”
“Yes, but there are others . . . just as powerful or more so.”
“True. But as a group, as a whole, they are stronger, more organized and disciplined. Their powershows in every facet of their existence. Once we clear those doors, you’ll see what I mean.”
She swept ahead of me toward a shaft of golden light that spilled through two-story-tall double doors, which were held open by two giant statues of armored warriors.
It was like walking toward the gates of Saint Peter. My pulse picked up. What existed outside of those doors was the model for heaven. Heaven.
I wasn’t deeply religious, but I did believe there existed a higher power—undefined and beyond our understanding. I was well aware the land beyond the golden light wasn’t a place of eternal rest, a place where souls found peace and reward. I knew all that, but it didn’t stop me from experiencing a profound sense of wonder as we drew closer to the wide shaft of light.
People passed in and out of the light, not even noting the beauty of it. And when I did the same, when I passed through that golden light, I came out onto a scene that took my breath away.
My first view of Ithonia was framed by massive white columns, part of a long colonnade stretching to the left and right. I moved to the marble railing built between each column and stood there taking it all in. From our higher vantage point, the city of Ithonia sprawled out in a gentle slope below us. In the distance, far beyond the city, a sun hovered just above green mountains. The white marble walls, streets, and buildings glowed.
I thought of Emma and Rex, of Bryn and myparents—if only they could see what I was seeing. I thought of Will and wondered if the Afterlife was as beautiful as this, and I prayed that it was.
“Ithonia.” Admiration filled Alessandra’s soft whisper.
“I never thought I’d see this. Never thought it’d live up to the hype, to the picture I had in my mind, but it does.” A hundred times over, it does .
“For once, we are in agreement,” she said with a genuine smile. “Many of the ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean—the Minoans, the ancient Greeks, the Etruscans—were influenced mostly by the Adonai and sirens who visited your world in
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